BYU Professor Says Altruism Key to Marital Bliss

Scott Loveless, attorney, wondered where the love went and what caused formerly happy couples to breakup their marriage. Loveless spent 10 years working as an attorney for the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., but when he moved to the Salt Lake City field office he decided to work part time on a degree in family studies from Brigham Young University. He graduated in April 2000 and in January he joined the World Family Policy Center as associate director working with Richard Wilkins at BYU.

LDS Teacher Remembered for Helping Immigrants

An LDS woman who transformed her own immigrant struggles with English into a passion for teaching English as a second language was featured in The Columbian last Saturday. Virginia Yadao Shorey taught English as a second langauge at Ft. Vancouver High School before her death July 6th from liver cancer. She was 49.

College Is School of Hard Financial Knocks for Unprepared

The Dallas Morning News this week mentions an LDS family's efforts as a good example of how parents can prepare their teenagers for the barrage of offers on college campuses by credit card companies and strengthen their students against the temptation to own the many clothing and technology status symbols that are "must-haves" in dorms and in the classroom. The high school graduates of 2001 are just a few weeks away from starting their freshman year of college. The Morning News says that in the short time remaining, parents need to set the ground rules for money matters to make sure their student is prepared for the financial enticements and challenges that are a part of today's time away at college.

People News Briefs

LDS Superintendent Leads School District in Saving for School Addition

Drawing on the community's Mormon heritage, Sanford School District Superintendent Ron Simpson led the school board in an 11-year-long savings project that allowed the district to build a $2-million addition to its buildings. The new 47,500-square-foot addition was built without state assistance and opened last week for tours from hundreds of people in conjunction with the town's Pioneer Days celebration. The Sanford school district is one of Colorado's poorest.

BYU Fundraising Cyclists Stop at Stanford

The five recent BYU graduates who are cycling 2,600 miles to raise funds for the study of Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare, but fatal, skin disease. EB is an inherited disorder characterized by blistering and scarring. It affects about 50,000 in the US. Andrew Berthrong, Dan Hoopes, Jake Merback, Rocky Garff, and Joey Merback left Provo June 18th on their 2,600-mile trek, traveling north through Idaho to Vancouver, British Columbia and then down the west coast to Tijuana, Mexico. They visited Stanford Medical Center on Monday, July 23rd. So far they have raised $40,000 toward their goal of $50,00 by the end of their trip this week.

Mentally Ill Former BYU Student Dies in Milwaukee Heat Wave

Former BYU student Barbara Burroughs, 52, was discovered dead in her apartment July 24th, the fourth person to die in a heat wave that hit Milwaukee. Burroughs was diagnosed 30 years ago with chronic undifferentiated schizophrenia, which apparently led to a divorce from her husband at that time. Her death has led to criticism of the Milwaukee County Mental Health Division after her landlady, Carol Matthews, a certified nurse's assistant, was told by a social service caseworker not to be so intrusive. Matthews was frustrated and angry with herself and the caseworker for making her second-guess her inclinations. "She didn't need to die," said Matthews, fighting back tears.

RM Tells Spokesman-Review of Missionary Experiences

Recently returned LDS missionary Jason Woolf told the Spokane, Washington Spokesman-Review about his experiences serving an LDS misison in Monterrey Mexico recently, relating how surprised he was to be called to Mexico, "During the interview they asked me what climate I preferred and I said cold," he said. "It was almost 100 degrees every single day there." But Woolf says he has no regrets, and is happy at the success he experienced on his mission. His goal was to talk to 50 people a day about the Mormon Church. "We did that every day," he said from his Spokane Valley home. "Even if they didn't want to hear our message, they would invite us in to feed us dinner or something." Woolf says that he and his companions baptized eight or nine people each week into the LDS Church. Woolf returned to the US last fall and studied last year at BYU. He plans to study dentistry at Eastern Washington University this fall.

BYU Professor Teaching, Researching in Kosovo

BYU Professor Allen Palmer, an associate professor of communications, is currently teaching at the University of Pristina in Kosovo in a month-long teaching assignment. Palmer is demonstrating new teaching styles at the University, which has traditionally relied on lecturing only, and is also conducting research on eastern European media. The position is part of the Kosovo Summer University program, sponsored by the Academic Training Association, based at the University of Amsterdam.

Bankruptcy Judge John Allen

Federal Bankruptcy Judge John H. Allen died July 21st from complications of Parkinson's Disease. He was appointed to the Federal bench August 24, 1983 and retired July 15th, less than a week before his death. Allen was known as a hard-working and careful judge, who had an uncanny ability to "sniff out whether a bankrupt debtor was on the level or was hiding things. You'd wonder how he knew and, in hindsight, he was always right. "He had the best nose in the business," said Attorney Vernon Hopkinson. He handled several high-profile cases, including the bankruptcy of Bonneville Pacific, which resulted in six company principals being indicted for fraud.

MIA General Board Member Margrit F. Lohner

Margrit F. Lohner who served on the music committee of the MIA General Board for 22 years, died July 22nd at the age of 87. Lohner also was a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for 17 years, and worked for the Genealogical Society using her German language skills to help people all over the world. Born May 20, 1914 in Zurich, Switzerland and married Werner Lohner in 1937. They immigrated to Salt Lake City in 1940. She was known for her musical performances in Salt Lake and served on the Church's hymnbook revision committee.

Vietnam Vet Emery Hill

Highly decorated veteran Emery Folsom Hill died July 21st unexpectedly in Bangor, Maine. Hill was a 1966 graduate of West Point who served in the US Army Field Artillery in Vietnam, where he was awarded two Silver Stars, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. He earned a graduate degree in Computer Engineering from Stanford University in 1972. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with military honors.

Air Force Veteran and Librarian Arthur Thomas Challis

Long-time Southern Utah University Librarian Arthur Thomas Challis died July 25th at age 76. After high school, Challis served in the Air Force during World War II, flying over 50 missions and receiving the Air Medal. After the war he married Ruth Mitchell in the Salt Lake Temple, with whom he had five children. After earning a BA in Journalism and an MA in Library Science at the University of Utah, Challis taught school and soon took a position as Director of the Library at Southern Utah University, where he worked for 42 years. He was also appointed University Historian, directed plans for a new library building constructed in 1969 and was President of the Utah Library Association. Tom Challis was also active in the Boy Scouts of America, earning the Extra Miler Award, Order of the Arrow, and the Silver Beaver Award.

Ski Instructor and Entrepreneur J. "K." Smith, Jr.

Known all his life as "K," J. "K." Smith, Jr. died July 21st at age 84. Smith installed the first 't-bar' in Brighton, Utah in 1936 and became a member of the famed 10th Mountain Division. He started the Brighton Ski School in 1946 and later founded the Deseret News Ski School. With his wife he operated Watkins Creek Dude Ranch in Montana from 1947 to 1968. In 1989 he was inducted into the Professional Ski Instructors Association of America, Hall of Fame in 1989. He married Anne Wright in 1945, with whom he is the parent of three daughters and one son.

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